Outside the Box: John Dent Jr.

When John Dent was a few months away from getting his associate’s degree in technology and civil engineering in 1987, he interviewed for an entry-level job as a technical assistant with Philadelphia Electric Co.

He was the 14th student to be interviewed that day by recruiters from the utility — and each of those previous students had lasted only a few minutes in the interview room before being ushered out. But when it was Dent’s turn, his interview lasted an hour and a half.

“When I finally walked out the door, everyone was looking at me with jaws open,” Dent said. “But what they didn’t know is that the (guy) interviewing me was a big fan of boxing and had noticed on my resume that I had done some college and amateur boxing. We sat there for 1 1/2 hours just talking about boxing. Lo and behold, I was hired.”

Dent’s first job at Philadelphia Electric Co., owner of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, was just the start of a long career within the nuclear power industry, working over the years at a total of five nuclear plants, including the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire.

Today, Dent oversees operations at Plymouth’s 700-megawatt, 650-employee Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, owned by Entergy Corp. Dent recently talked about his life and his profession with BBJ correspondent Jay Fitzgerald.

When people learn you work at a nuclear power plant, what’s their most common reaction? You know, that’s a very good question. It took me years to grapple with this. My wife had to finally help me with this one. I’d be at a party or gathering and eventually the question would come up, “So what do you do for a living?” My typical response was: “I work in commercial nuclear power.” And the reaction, 99 out of a 100 times, is something like a stare and then they’d say, “So how about them Bruins?” The topic would change. I’d tell my wife, “What is it? Is it boring? Why do people not show interest?” And she’d say it wasn’t that — that people don’t know what to say. They don’t know anything about nuclear power. So they default to moving on and change the topic.

As someone who has spent so many years in the nuclear-energy business, does it frustrate you sometimes that there’s been so few, if any, new nuclear plants built in America in recent years? I would take out the word “frustrate.” It doesn’t frustrate me. It makes me sad, because I’m such a big believer in it. I’m a big believer in a diverse fuel mix in this country. I think it’s great for the nation. It’s safe, it’s reliable, it’s efficient, and it’s great for the economy. People don’t fully appreciate how much power a moderate-size nuclear plant, in a condensed version, can put out. So it saddens me.

Do you think there will be more nuclear plants built in the near or distant future in America? There are a few being built. There are a total of four — two in South Carolina and two in Georgia. But in the near future, I think not many. I think the financial uncertainty that goes with them, it has the potential to bankrupt a company. But in the distant future, I think time will bear out that this is the viable option.

Do you often try to convince people that nuclear plants could help reduce carbon pollutants and fight climate change? I typically try to help people understand how safe they are and, again, their total electric output and the lack of carbon pollutants. And I stress the safety of the plants. I usually leave it at that.

What’s the most recent book you’ve read and enjoyed? “The Pillars of the Earth,” by Ken Follett. I enjoyed it immensely. It took me to a different place and time. I tend to be attracted to books set in different places and times – fiction wrapped in facts. “Pillars of the Earth” takes place in the Dark Ages. I almost became part of it.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be? It’s got to be, in my mind, a bit more than just “where” you would go. Greece is someplace where we’ll go one day, my wife and I, when the kids are bit older. But it’s as much about “how long.” A week or 10 days to Greece isn’t appealing. But three weeks or a month — to really immerse yourself in the culture and to explore the whole area — that’s something pretty high up on my list.

If you had to watch only one of two anti-nuclear movies, what would it be — “The China Syndrome” or “Godzilla?” Be honest. You have to choose. I like “Godzilla.” I’m a big fan of big monsters and things like that. So I’d definitely have to go with “Godzilla.”